'Matt’s Chance' (2013) is the third feature by the prolific talent Nicholas Gyeney. This is a surreal Dramedy about ‘Matt’ (Edward Furlong) who hasn’t had much luck in his young life, so who can blame him for drowning out his sorrows in a seedy bar professing the blues? The film opens on an inebriated Matt drinking a beer at the bar as he recounts a story to his friend about how he finally got lucky and met the girl of his dreams, ‘Jessica’ (Brandy Kopp).

The rest is a flashback to what begins a transcendent journey of initiation into the rapturous and miserable torment of love. A series of trials and tribulations takes him on a labyrinthine tour from the seedy bar to a mafia house, some questionable male hormonal drugs to a child’s birthday party, a quirky barber (Lee Majors) to a fist fight with a bald banker, a pink bunny suit to a seventy year-old prostitute named ‘Mother Mable’ (Margot Kidder). Life doesn’t get weirder than Matt’s reality; but after the painful growth of this whacky adventure, Matt experiences a sublime epiphany.

‘Matt’s Chance’ premiered at the New York International Film Festival and will play on closing night at the Las Vegas Independent Film Festival and at the Seattle True Independent Film Festival. ‘Matt’s Chance’ recently won it’s 5th Best Picture award at the Houston's World Fest. -by Vanessa McMahon

In a recent interview with Nicholas Gyeney, here is what he had to say:

ME: What is Matt’s chance exactly? Is it a chance with a girl or a kind of epiphany that he has?

NICHOLAS: The title's meaning was always meant to be two-fold. On one hand, the story is about Matt's chance to get even with his fiancée after he discovers her with another man. But beyond that, the title more importantly refers to the proposition Matt is faced with after the climax of the film. It is his chance to finally make something of himself.

ME: Your film has a pulpy satire feel to it and some magic in it. Would you like to speak about your tone/vision as a writer?

NICHOLAS: I always intended the film to be pulpy, yes, but more specifically like a 90s strip mall. You know, just a bit grimy, just a bit crude, all in a Crayola crayon package. The tone was difficult to nail down, and I'm sure some audience members will have trouble classifying the movie. At times it is pretty out there in terms of the comedy, and at other times it gets quite dramatic. Regardless of which genre the film skips through in any given scene, the sub-textual focus was always meant to be on Matt's existential journey. Some audiences will walk out of the film enjoying the comedy and commenting on its dark nature. But hopefully, if we did our job right, some audiences will examine the deeper meaning of the film, Of Matt's journey toward self-discovery.

ME: Who are your greatest inspirations?

NICHOLAS: Immediate creative inspirations are Michael Mann, Luc Besson, James Cameron, Christopher Nolan, and Ridley Scott- all masters of dramatic tension and action.

ME: What was it like working with Edward Furlong? Was it an obvious cast for you or did you spend a long time looking for Matt?

NICHOLAS: ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’ is my favorite movie, so working with him came with its bonuses (such as getting Eddie to wear the Public Enemy shirt from T2 for a flashback scene). While we did consider other choices, there was something about Furlong that embodied the personality of Matt perfectly. Someone not quite put together, but wanting to be.

ME: I loved the scene with Margot Kidder. She plays a prostitute who gives advice, kind of like the wise old woman. What was it like working with her?

NICHOLAS: Margot was wonderful. She was very receptive to direction and a great collaborator. She had endless amazing stories of the glory days with Christopher Reeve and Richard Donner.

ME: Why is he in love with such a loser girl?

NICHOLAS: That's funny, I usually get the reverse of that question ;). Matt, like many insecure men, was seduced by her charm and beauty. Jessica is just as lost as Matt is. The only difference is, she has a job and looks better doing it. She wanted something more, something better, and was easily corruptible. But Matt, for his part, was not doing enough to better himself. As Jessica puts it, he gave up. So she did too.

ME: You write all the films you direct. Are they inspired by real events?

NICHOLAS: Many moments in my last film were inspired by moments and conversations in my life. And ‘Matt's Chance’ is loosely based on the life events of a good friend of mine, Matt, from Seattle. But my career is still in its infancy. I'm sure there will be plenty of films to direct that I won't have a writing credit on.

ME: This is your 3rd film. Does it get easier as you go along or is each film as challenging as the others?

NICHOLAS: Each film has gotten bigger, so with that comes new challenges. But what I can say is that my abilities as a filmmaker have dramatically improved at each attempt. I have a long way to go before ill be satisfied... Perhaps I never will be.

ME: You recently won an award in Houston FF for Best Picture? What was that like?

NICHOLAS: Our film festival tour has been a fantastic ride with five best picture awards thus far. It has been an amazing experience to have our work recognized. It's not an easy film to sell. The subject matter and dark nature of the film will certainly polarize audiences into "love it" or "hate it" camps. I think acknowledging that fact makes me even more grateful for the recognition.

ME: What are you working on next?

NICHOLAS: A conspiracy thriller called ‘The Unknown Son’ and a Mob Dramedy called ‘Oldfellas’; The latter of which I did not write.

Interview by Vanessa McMahon. May 7, 2013.

View 'Matt's Chance' trailer here: http://www.imdb.com/video/withoutabox/vi180921369?ref_=tt_pv_vi_1

Nicholas Gyeney (left) winning for Best Picture at Houston's World Fest